Ideals and Ideologies: A Reader

If you plan to vote, you really should read this book. its a good read to really find where you stand in the political game. politics are sadly plagued with influence by media, i think this is a good counter to that. in a world where people are quick to throw scary words at you like "socialist", "communist, "anarchist" when every party proclaiming this has been a practice of fascism or ignored because they refuse to look into the meaning. this book is a good starter in pointing that out and really sheds the light on politics, not just for the future anarchists out there but especially for libertarians, if they really believe people like ron paul and bob barr are geniuses or cut and paste ideals from the 50's.

As a companion reader to Ideals and Ideologies, this reader is an excellent compostion of essays and writings that will challenge and encourage political thought. It is good for anyone wanting a broad overview of many different ideologies, rather than focusing on one in particular. It is historical so I recommend it for non-political readers as well. This work gives a good overview of the diverse ways in which men see government working and ruling in the affairs of men.

I reread this wonderful collection of seminal works of political philosophy often. I used it in my course on ideology. Students will find it challenging to work through, if you assign selections indescriminantly. That is why this reader is meant to complement an equally wonderful textbook written by the same authors. The scope here is awe-inspiring. We begin with Euripides and Pericles in the ancient Greece and end with the latest crypto ideological movements, such as feminism, animal rights activism, green politics, and the end of history thesis. I think that all selections are enlightening. This should be a must book for anyone specializing in political theory, intellectual history, or anyone who wants to understand or effectively employ ideological rhetoric. Great book.

The editors have done a good job of including most of the major areas of western political thought of the last two thousand years. A bit skimpy on classical works, but well grounded in more contemporary times and the foundational thought of American and Western democratic ideals. The contents have been edited to ensure that the message is not lost in prose, and the average reader should be able to enjoy the readings, also getting a clear sense of what the original author intended to say. Aimed at the Higher Education market it is a little pricey, but a buy for the shelf of anyone interested in this subjecr area.